Zoning Plan Riles Maitland Homeowners

MAITLAND — More than 100 homeowners pledged at least $50 each Monday to wage an appeal of Orange County's decision to zone 33 acres on Maitland Boulevard for offices and condominiums.

Meeting at Lake Sybelia Elementary School, across Sandspur Road from where the 240,000-square-foot South Sandspur Grove office park is planned, nearly 150 homeowners agreed that an appeal was warranted even if the city could not join in the lawsuit.

''So what it comes down to, folks, it rests with us,'' said resident Leonard Schmidt, who told the others that commercial encroachment could decrease residential property values.

City attorney Paul Gougelman said Maitland may not have a case against the county, but homeowners living near the property would have a better chance in court.

A notice of intention to sue must be filed this week. The appeal must follow within 30 days. Gougelman said the city would file the notice just to keep its options open.

Jack Nichols, a Maitland resident who has researched potential appeal issues, said a suit could have merit if it is filed by adjoining homeowners who can show potential damage by the office development.

Because Maitland property in the Bucher Heights subdivision lies next to the eastern portion of the site owned by the Battaglia family, homeowners there will be asked if they would be willing to be named in the suit.

The major appeal issues will be whether the county violated its growth- management plan by zoning the property for commercial use when the land was designated for homes, schools, churches and apartments, and whether the commission violated procedure when it considered a tie vote inconclusive and waited a week for the full board to vote, without benefit of a hearing.

At a hearing Oct. 21 commissioners Vera Carter and Tom Dorman voted against the rezoning while Hal Marston and Lou Treadway voted for it. At a second vote a week later, Bob Harrell broke the tie, concurring with Marston and Treadway. Maitland council member Richard Howell said the city would back the residents in whatever they did, but the city did not want to oppose the county in court because the two are tied so closely in other matters.

The city has volunteered to donate legal transcripts of the hearings and to have Gougelman research the appeal.

If the attempt to block the zoning is successful, the property owners must wait one year to file for rezoning, which Schmidt said would give residents time to campaign against what he called the current ''pro-growth'' majority on the board. It also would allow time to focus on the environmental effect of the proposed office development.